Cass Lake man in custody in connection to woman's death

CASS LAKE, Minn. — A 24-year-old Cass Lake man may face a murder charge after authorities found a woman Sunday morning, Nov. 12, with a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

Brandon Joseph Roy was apprehended in connection with the death of a 25-year-old Cass Lake woman and is in custody in Cass County Jail in Walker pending formal charges, Cass County Sheriff Tom Burch said.

The Cass County Sheriff's Office received a report of a shooting at 8:17 a.m. Sunday at a residence in the Cass Lake area. When Cass County deputies arrived to the residence, they located the woman who had a gunshot wound to the head inside the residence. Life-saving efforts were performed, but the victim died at the scene.

The identity of the victim is being withheld pending notification of family members.

Burch said the victim and the suspect are known to each other, but he could not comment on what the motive is for the shooting. It is not known what type of gun was used.

The woman had no other trauma to her person, just the fatal gunshot wound, Burch said.

The sheriff's office is asking for the public's help with locating three people, all of Cass Lake, in connection with the ongoing investigation: Anthony John Larose, 28; Sara Renae Larose, 41; and Ileisha Lynee Guinn, age 25.

If anyone has any information about the location of the individuals, they are asked to contact the sheriff's office at 218-547-1424 or 1-800-450-2677.

Burch said the shooting remains under investigation with an autopsy pending.

"The community is not in any danger," Burch said. "This was an isolated incident."

According to the Cass County Jail's in-custody list, Roy was booked for first-degree murder with intent while committing a felony and aggravated robbery with a firearm.

According to court records, Roy has been convicted of several felonies in Beltrami and Cass counties beginning in June of 2011, with the most recent one on March of 2016. Roy was convicted of fifth-degree drug possession, escaping from custody, making terroristic threats, fleeing a peace officer, giving a false name to a peace officer and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.